47 pages • 1 hour read
Dusti BowlingAcross The Desert
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Geographical Context: The Arizona Desert Environment
Jolene’s quest in Across the Desert takes her to a variety of locations in Arizona. The novel references Alamo Lake State Park, the ghost town of Signal, and Jo’s destinations of Quartzsite, Hope, and Wenden; each is a real location northwest of Phoenix, Jolene’s home. The Alamo Lake region, where Jolene treks to find her friend, Addie, has daily average temperatures in June, July, and August that top 100 degrees. Stretches of desert separate towns and stopping points; although Alamo Lake State Park offers camping, hiking, and fishing, Addie’s plane crash occurs in a remote area where passersby would be very unlikely. Sun exposure, heat, insects, snakes, cacti, and other hazards pose dangers for the characters. Environmental conflicts are amplified because Addie flies without supplies, and Jo does not have adequate water or emergency gear.
As the novel progresses, the intense heat transcends other dangers. The heat’s impact is foreshadowed in the opening of the story: “It’s so hot today in downtown Phoenix, I could probably bake cookies in a car” (1). Jo’s and Addie’s comments regarding the heat help to establish this conflict as well; Jo is relieved to feel the cool air of the library, and Addie reports (ironically) that she does not intend to fly the next day due to the heat. Walking in the desert, Jo is queasy and lightheaded; Addie, once found, is dangerously dehydrated. These examples show how the heat contributes to plot complications, character motivations, setting, conflict, and suspense.
Literary Context: Middle Grade Survival Stories
Wilderness survival fiction is a popular subgenre of middle grade adventure. In these stories, the middle grade protagonist faces danger alone or with only other young characters; adult characters, if present, usually are unable to make decisions or understand the intentions of the young protagonist, compelling the protagonist to lead the way. Regarding character motivations, the protagonist’s involvement in the survival situation is often involuntary. The modern classic Hatchet is an example: The pilot of Brian’s plane has a heart attack, causing Brian to crash land in the Canadian wilderness. Sometimes, however, the protagonist chooses to enter the wilderness setting, as Jolene does in Across the Desert. Whether the choice is theirs or not, and whether they are alone or not, the middle grade protagonist makes key decisions that impact their own and potentially others’ survival.
Some middle grade survival novels lean toward fantasy or dystopian; in Alone by Megan E. Freeman, for example, young Maddie is left behind in her remote small town when an unexplained “threat” causes the evacuation of the western US. Many middle grade survival stories, however, are realistic. In Alan Gratz’s Refugee, for example, two of the three protagonists must survive on rafts at sea; in Meika Hashimoto’s The Trail, the main character faces danger along the Appalachian Trail; in The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling (author of Across the Desert), the protagonist must survive a flash flood in a remote canyon. In Across the Desert, a realistic survival tale, Jolene sets out to save her friend from deadly heat and desert conditions. Though an older teen accompanies her, Jolene’s tenacity, courage, and resilience lead to their survival, placing Across the Desert firmly in the middle grade wilderness survival subgenre.
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By Dusti Bowling
